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it was absolutely beautiful

all you cool hand lukes out there who decided to boycott the opening ceremony as some kind of political statement missed out on one helluva show. i couldn't care less about the olympic games myself, but the opening and parade are always worth watching as a rare moment of world unity. this year's opening was incredible...

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Originally posted by Lira I did google that, and like I said, Beijing is not like Nazi Berlin. Germany had been punished too harshly after WWI, and totalitarism was blooming in many European countries. The four regional powers surrounding China (India, Japan, Russia and South Korea) aren't totalitarian, and they haven't been in a war with China for quite a while.

The totalitarianism is not what I'm referring to, more the practise of glossing over. In advance of the 1936 Olympics, Hitler ordered that signs such as 'Jews not welcome' be removed from tourist attractions so as not to offend visitors, and create a false image of the regime's policy.

China can build all the fancy stadiums they want, they can hire 2 million drummers and set off ion storms in the atmosphere for our amusement, but it doesn't change the fact that this is a government that has no regard for the sanctity of human life.

I encourage all of you to visit Amnesty International's website and read up.

A moment of world unity to be sure, but I find the setting highly inappropriate. It's only open to unity as long as you aren't Tibetan, Mongolian, Uighur muslim or happen to follow Falun Gong - over half a million people from these groups are estimated to be held by the PRC, without charge. Christians are required to worship only within state-sponsored churches.

Bloggers beaten to death by government officials, media censorship, harassment, murder, industrial contamination of food and water supplies and the mysterious disappearance of tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people to what are essentially gulags and concentration camps, are exapmles of the China they wish to divert your attention from.

But hey, at least you got to watch girls in bikinis play volleyball, right?

It would have been nice if it was broadcast live in the US



I fucking hate NBC

SOURCE

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Amnesty International Testimony Broken Promises: The 2008 Olympics and the Human Rights Situation in China Before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus United States Congress Presented by T. Kumar Advocacy Director for Asia & Pacific Amnesty International USA July 22, 2008 Thank you Mr. Chairman and members of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. Amnesty International is pleased to testify in this important hearing and we wish to express our appreciation for all the steps the Caucus has taken to highlight human rights in China before the Olympics. The efforts of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus stand in stark contrast to the tepid actions the Bush Administration has taken. It is important to compare the human rights promises given by the Chinese authorities when they were bidding for the Olympics with the human rights conditions today to determine whether the Chinese authorities have honored their promises. It is also equally important to ask whether the Bush Administration has taken appropriate steps to secure human rights improvements before the Olympics. Amnesty International has documented numerous human rights abuses committed by authorities in China that are being perpetrated because of the Olympics. There are pre-Olympics �clean-ups� resulting in several �Olympics prisoners.� There are also secret detention centers and Chinese activists are barred from talking to foreigners. We are also concerned about the rights of foreigners who will be going to Beijing to attend the Olympics. Human rights in China before the Olympics was awarded: The scale of China�s human rights violations is staggering. A quarter of a million people are langushing in labor camps, imprisoned under the �re-education through labor� detention system, where they are detained without charge or trial at the whim of local police and other officials. China accounts for upwards of eighty percent of all executions documented in the world. China also executes political prisoners. Torture by law enforcement personnel is endemic resulting in many prisoner deaths while in custody. Thousands suffer brutal religious presecution and political repression. Religious persecution has led to the detention and repression of thousands of Christians, Tibetan Budhists, Uighur Muslims and Falun Gong practitioners. Other targets of repression include political dissidents, trade union organizers, advocates of reform, and people using the internet to disseminate information deemed to be �politically sensitive.� North Korean asylum seekers face intense repression and large scale forcible repatriation to North Korea. Women are still compelled to undergo forced abortion and sterilization to enforce the one-child policy. The government regularly denies the right to freedom of conscience, expression, religion and association. Promises made by Chinese authorities to improve human rights if Beijing is awarded the Olympics: Authorities in China made several promises to improve human rights: 1) Secretary General of Beijing�s Olympics bid Committee, Wang Wei (July 2001): �We will give the media complete freedom to report when they come to China.� �We are confident that the Games coming to China not only promotes our economy but also enhances all social conditions, includig education, health and human rights.� 2) Vice President of Beijing bid committee, Liu Jingmin. (April 2001): �By allowing Beijing to host the Games you will help the development of human rights.� 3) Mayor of Beijing Liu Qi: �By hosting the games, social progress and economic development in China would move forward, as would China�s human rights situation.� Human rights in China since the awarding of the Olympics: The human rights situation in China has continued to deteriorate since the Olympics was awarded to Beijing in 2001. The crackdown on journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders has intensified since Beijing won the Olympics bid. Due to these crackdowns we see a new category of abused �Olympics prisoners� who would not have been in prison if not for the Olympics. The authorities have stepped up repression of dissent voices in their efforts to present an image of �stability� and �harmony� to the outside world, which includes human rights violations perpetrated in preparation for the Games. Two recent crisis situations in west China have challenged the authorities to demonstrate that their human rights commitments are more than empty words. The recent protests in Tibet and Tibetan-populated areas of surrounding provinces and the subsequent crackdown and media silence imposed by authorities highlighted not only longstanding and unresolved violations of fundamental human rights but also the on-going censorship of the media. In contrast, the authorities initially responded to the effects of the devastating earthquake in Sichuan province with uncharacteristic openness, allowing relatively free media access to the region. However media control tightened as local families began public protests calling for accountability of local officials, especially with regard to the collapse of schools which were allegedly poorly constructed. Secret detention centers In September 2007, reports emerged of secret detention centers established on the outskirts of the capital by Beijing liaison offices of provincial governments in China to detain petitioners before they could be forcefully returned to their hometowns. Petitioners were crowded into these facilities with poor food and no proper sanitation facilities or health care. Some sources also reported that guards often beat detainees. Activists barred from leaving or talking to foreigners At the end of June 2008, Shanghai police sent notices to activists and petitioners based in the city ordering them to report to the police every week. Some were briefly detained by the police. The new rules barred them from leaving the city without permission and warned them against speaking to foreigners or visiting Beijing until after the Olympics. Labor Camps (Re-education through labor): The Chinese authorities continue to rely on abusive systems of punitive administrative detention against a variety of �offenders� including, in many cases peaceful petitioners and human rights activists. The police enjoy unchecked authority to impose such punishments without charge, trial or judicial review. Far from acting as a catalyst for reform, the authorities have used Beijing�s hosting of the Olympics as a pretext for extending the use of punitive administrative detention, like �re-education through labor.� The police have specifically targeted petitioners and rights activists in their efforts to �clean up� Beijing ahead of the games. On May 8, 2008, the Beijing city authorities decided that �Re-education through labor� would be used as a way to control various types of �offending behavior� to clean up the city�s image in the run-up to the Olympics. This would include serious cases of �unlawful advertising or leafleting, unlicensed taxis, unlicensed businesses, vagrancy and begging.� Plight of Chinese activists Many human rights defenders continue to be detained, prosecuted and imprisoned as prisoners of conscience after politically motivated trials, while others are being held under �house arrest� as prisoners in their own homes. As the Olympics approach, human rights defenders who attempt to report on violations, challenge policies which are deemed politically sensitive, or try to rally others to their cause face a series risk of abuse. Those who have made connections between human rights and the Olympics have been specifically targeted in the pre-Olympics �clean up.� The police have also used surveillance and arbitrary detention against members of activists� families, in an apparent attempt to apply more pressure. The authorities continue to use provisions of the Criminal Law as political tools to suppress dissent. Broadly defined categories of crimes, such as �separatism�, �subversion�, �disturbing public order�, endangering state security�, and �leaking state secrets� continue to be used to prosecute those engaged in legitimate and peaceful human rights activities. Plight of Chinese Lawyers Many of those persecuted in the run up to the Olympics are lawyers and legal advisors who play a crucial role in securing the rule of law and the protection of human rights in any society. The vulnerability of Chinese lawyers was underscored in May 2008 when the authorities refused to renew the law licenses of Beijing � based lawyers Teng Biao and Jiang Tianyong. Both had signed their names to an open letter by 18 lawyers on April 3, 2008 offering free legal counsel to Tibetans arrested in connection with the recent crackdown. According to one of those arrested lawyers, Chinese authorities warned the lawyers and their law firms not to get involved in Tibetan issues. Jiang Tianyong�s law license was eventually renewed at the end of June, but Teng Biao�s has not yet been renewed. Media and Internet freedom In view of current patterns of media censorship and control in China, concerns remain that the authorities may seek to block broadcasting of any items deemed �sensitive� or �inappropriate� during the Olympic Games. Despite the introduction of new media regulations increasing the freedom of foreign reporters to cover news stories in China, overseas journalists continue to report being obstructed or hampered from conducting interviews. The Foreign Correspondence Club of China documented approximately 180 incidents in 2007. By July 2008, this had increased to 230, including over 40 cases after the unrest in Tibet in March and more than 12 after the Sichuan earthquake in May. Plight of Chinese journalists: Chinese journalists continue to operate in a climate of official censorship and control, with many still languishing in jail for reporting on issues deemed politically sensitive. Internet controls have been increasingly tightened as the Olympics approach with control, regulation and censorship extending to various categories of internet users, including Internet Service Providers, bloggers and website owners. Numerous websites have been closed down for providing information deemed sensitive by the authorities. Internet users who post such information risk detention, prosecution, and imprisonment. Foreign Olympics visitors � rights restricted? On June 2, 2008 the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) published guidelines which risk violating the rights to freedom of expression and association of foreigners intending to visit China to attend the Olympics, including athletes, officials and other visitors. The regulations state that foreigners must not �endanger state security, harm the rights and interests of society or disrupt social stability.� Foreign visitors are also prohibited from committing acts of �subversion� or other activities deemed to �endanger the national interest.� They are also warned not to bring into China any materials (including printed mater, DVDs, etc) which �harm China�s politics, economy, culture or morals� or to take any materials out of China whose contents �involve state secrets.� The guidelines also state that entry to China will be denied to anyone �considered likely to engage in activities which endanger state security and the national interest.� The wording of such provisions parallels the vague and broad wording of state security offences in the Chinese Criminal Law which have long been used by the authorities to prosecute and imprison peaceful Chinese activists and prisoners of conscience in violation of their rights to freedom of expression. The regulations also prohibit foreign visitors from displaying any �slogans�, banners or other materials of a religious, political or racial nature� in Olympic facilities. This appears to be based on Rule 51.3 of the Olympics Charter which bans �demonstrations or political, religious or racial propaganda in Olympic sites, venues or other areas.� However BOCOG�s guidelines contain an additional, broader prohibition on �the display of insulting slogans, banners or other materials to sporting venues.� No definition is given to the word �insulting� but current practice suggests that it will be interpreted broadly to include anything which authorities deemed to be offensive. The guidelines provide examples of �socially disruptive behavior� prohibited during �large scale public activities of a cultural or sporting nature.� The list includes �displaying insulting slogans, banners or other materials� as well as a catch-all category: �other behavior which disturbs the order of large-scale public activities.� In view of this vague, sweeping wording, Amnesty International fears that the Chinese authorities will use these guidelines as a tool to curtail rights to freedom of expression of athletes, officials and other foreign visitors to China at the time of the Olympics. Anyone bringing in materials, or staging peaceful activities, which are critical of the Chinese authorities risks being targeted. President Bush and the Olympics: There are only a little over two weeks left until the Olympic Games begin in Beijing on August 8, 2008. President Bush will be attending the opening ceremony and Secretary Rice will attend the closing ceremony. Their attendence shows the importance the Bush Administration is giving to the Beijing Olympics. We are concerned that the importance given by the Administration to the Olympic Games is not matched by the attention given to human rights abuses in China. Amnesty International believes that the Bush Administration should have done more to improve human rights in China before the start of Olympics. As noted above, the human rights situation has worsened because of the Olympics and the Administration has not been forceful in addressing the situation. There is still time for the Bush Administration to act. Amnesty International would like to recommend the following to President Bush to bring attention to human rights abuses in China even at this late stage. Before President Bush leaves for the Olympics: 1) President Bush should meet with the released political prisoners from China who are residing in the United States before he leaves for the Olympics. There are several Tibetan, Uighur, and other former prisoners in the US. 2) President Bush should make a strong public statement about human rights abuses in China and demand improvements. 3) President Bush should urge the Chinese Government to release some political prisoners and give commitments on the abolishment of labor camps (�Re-Education through labor detention system�) as a sign of good will before he arrives to attend the Olympic Games. While President Bush is in Beijing for the Olympics: 1) President Bush should make a strong public statement on human rights and consider speaking at a University or other public places. 2) President Bush should meet with the foreign correspondents based in Beijing to discuss press freedom. After President Bush returns from the Olympics: President Bush should make a statement about human rights concerns in China and outline steps his administration has taken and will take to end the abuses. Thank you for inviting Amnesty International. T. Kumar Advocacy Director for Asia & Pacific Amnesty International USA Phone: (202)544-0200, ext: 224 Email: [email protected]

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Originally posted by verndogs It would have been nice if it was broadcast live in the US I fucking hate NBC

Yeah I was kind of upset about that too. We have Televisions at work for our clients to watch while they're waiting and I figured I could go and catch a couple minutes of the ceremony here and there.


I can't believe they didn't show anything in the morning. It was all taped and shown later!

please stop preaching amnesty stuff. one of the reason i respect that organisation is that they want people to come to them and not bugging people on the street like many others.

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Originally posted by Soeder please stop preaching amnesty stuff. one of the reason i respect that organisation is that they want people to come to them and not bugging people on the street like many others.

For the record, I am not affilliated wit AI in any way.

However, AI is a respected source for human rights activism and their conclusions and opinions are absolutely relevant to this discussion.

If you prefer, I could cite reports by Doctors without Borders, The Red Cross/Red Crescent, the UN, or any number of other human rights watchdogs.

This is hardly 'bugging people on the street', this is a forum for discussion and you are welcome to skip my posts if you don't wish to read them. I will not, however, stop soley on the basis of you finding it 'preachy'.

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Originally posted by ahway26 Im really proud of what China did to impress all the audiences, They sure put up a show. We, Chinese waited over 100 years for this to happen of course we will be spending some money to show the world that China has come up to another level. For people who say its a waste of money just think it s this way. China was trying to impress the WORLD with the opening and they did it. All the money spend was for all the people that took their time n money to come and see the show. Traditional Chinese loves to invite friends and family for any gathering, we love to be the host for dinners , parties for people to join and its always the top priorty to let the guest to have fun. If you understand a little bit about Chinese culture, you would know all these money spend was to please the crowd and give them the best show.

I'm sure all the Chinese who had their homes/properties bulldozed in Beijing to make this event all gleefully celebrated the opening ceremony.

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Originally posted by Nostalgic I'm sure all the Chinese who had their homes/properties bulldozed in Beijing to make this event all gleefully celebrated the opening ceremony.

Trust me, They are ALL happy about the olympic and willing to move for it. At least that what i see and heard from the people who lives in BJ.

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Originally posted by Dr. DAS SOURCE

I'm sorry, but in what position does BUSH have to tell the people in China or the person who leads China what to do?

Being cummunist is prolly a good way to lead this many people. Try asking what Bush can do when his country is filled with people like China. He be shitting bricks, it be chaos in US.

the opening ceremony was crazy

My girlfriend and I caught bits and pieces of it from the bar when we went out last night. Looked pretty sick from the couple of moments we saw, wish I could've seen the whole thing.

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Originally posted by idoru My girlfriend and I caught bits and pieces of it from the bar when we went out last night. Looked pretty sick from the couple of moments we saw, wish I could've seen the whole thing.

those poor chinese cheerleaders who were clapping their hands for like 2 hours straitght. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

are you guys serious that no network bothered to show it live in US?
they screwed around with the swimming schedule just to suit US timeslots but no-one actually cares enough to make it worth showing live anyway?

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Originally posted by tubby are you guys serious that no network bothered to show it live in US? they screwed around with the swimming schedule just to suit US timeslots but no-one actually cares enough to make it worth showing live anyway?

Are you talking about the opening ceremony? I live on the west coast of the states and Beijing is 15 hours ahead of us. I assume the ceremony took place at around 8PM, which would've meant it would be aired live here at 5AM. You'll get a far greater number of viewers if you show it pre-recorded at 8PM than live at 5AM.

Simple.

then show it twice? seems amazing that a market as big as that gets such crap coverage.

then again maybe we're just spoilt in our sports coverage here, we get better EPL cover that they do in england, even if the games kick off at 1am for most of the season.

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Originally posted by tubby then show it twice? seems amazing that a market as big as that gets such crap coverage. then again maybe we're just spoilt in our sports coverage here, we get better EPL cover that they do in england, even if the games kick off at 1am for most of the season.

Waste of money. Nobody's going to wake up on a Friday morning at 5AM just to watch the opening ceremony. Most people are either asleep or just waking up and heading off to work at that hour.

Anyone have video of the 2008 drummers? Can't find it on Youtube

tight white vests + hockey players + downpour = happy viewing

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Originally posted by ahway26 I'm sorry, but in what position does BUSH have to tell the people in China or the person who leads China what to do? Being cummunist is prolly a good way to lead this many people. Try asking what Bush can do when his country is filled with people like China. He be shitting bricks, it be chaos in US.

Yes, how stupid of me to think the leader of a world power should speak to the state of human rights.

How stupid of me to think the leader of a democracy would have something to say about political prisioners.

This is basic world politics.

And, I'm sorry - did you just endear communism? Based on what, the size of a country's population? What is the exact number of people required for communism to become the most effective form of government?

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Originally posted by Dr. DAS And, I'm sorry - did you just endear communism? Based on what, the size of a country's population? What is the exact number of people required for communism to become the most effective form of government?

There is nothing wrong with communism.

http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...3&forumid=66&s=

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Originally posted by idoru Waste of money. Nobody's going to wake up on a Friday morning at 5AM just to watch the opening ceremony. Most people are either asleep or just waking up and heading off to work at that hour.

You're wrong there.

There would have been an audience to show it live, obviously not as big as the prime time numbers.

Ideally, what NBC should have done was show the opening ceremonies live on one of their cable channels and then show the replay for the prime time audience.

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Originally posted by tubby are you guys serious that no network bothered to show it live in US? they screwed around with the swimming schedule just to suit US timeslots but no-one actually cares enough to make it worth showing live anyway?

It's NBC with their usual bullshit of holding viewers in the US hostage and trying to get really high prime time ratings.

If someone in the US wanted to watch it live, they'd either have to watch a bootleg feed online or if they lived near the Canadian border, watch the CBC feed.

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Originally posted by Dr. DAS And, I'm sorry - did you just endear communism? Based on what, the size of a country's population? What is the exact number of people required for communism to become the most effective form of government?

I don't know...whats the population of the states....that would be a good starting number

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